Lassa Fever: Nigeria Records 11 New Cases As Death Toll Hits 176

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said that the country has recorded 11 new confirmed cases of Lassa fever in Ondo State.

This was disclosed in its epidemiological report for week 43rd of 2025, showing an increase from nine cases reported in the previous week.

Cumulatively, as of week 43, a total of 176 deaths have been recorded across the country, representing a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 18.4 per cent, higher than the 16.6 per cent recorded in the same period in 2024.

As of 2025, 21 states have reported at least one confirmed case across 102 local government areas (LGAs), according to the report.

According to the NCDC, four states — Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, and Taraba — account for 88 per cent of all confirmed cases reported this year. Ondo alone recorded 37 per cent, followed by Bauchi (21 per cent), Edo (17 per cent), and Taraba (13 per cent). The remaining 12 per cent were reported from 17 other states.

The report indicates that the predominant age group affected is 21 to 30 years, with a range from 1 to 96 years and a median age of 30 years. The male-to-female ratio among confirmed cases stands at 1:0.8.

NCDC also noted a decline in both suspected and confirmed cases compared to the same period in 2024. Encouragingly, no new infections of healthcare workers were recorded in week 43.

Meanwhile, the centre said that the National Lassa Fever Multi-Partner, Multi-Sectoral Technical Working Group (TWG) continues to coordinate response efforts across national and subnational levels to curb the spread of the disease.